


How to Build a Life Together

by ArbitrarySpaces (orphan_account)



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Because the lake is basically on their campus, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Lake Michigan, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, People write love declarations on the rocks on the shore of Lake Michigan at Northwestern, Romance, Slice of Life, Teacher-Student Relationship, Underage Drinking, northwestern university, poker pair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-15
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-09-08 20:29:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8859907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/ArbitrarySpaces
Summary: Step 1: Say I love you and be sure to make it big.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I went to this conference at Northwestern back in October and we walked over to the lake and apparently people declare their love by writing on the rocks there. All I could think was how great a fanfiction that would make and it just sort of kept getting longer because I can't resist fluff :)
> 
> I have written about half of this and outlined the rest, so I promise that it will be finished and I'm done with finals :) so it will probably be finished fairly soon.

It was 7:03 in the morning when Allen walked into the kitchen, still wearing his pajamas, and saw Tyki sitting at the counter with Nea and Mana. “Running a little late for statistics, boy?”

Allen stopped about five feet from the counter. “How did you know that?”

Tyki looked over his shoulder at Allen, smirking. “Because I’m your professor, boy.”

Allen turned around and started walking back to his room. “I’m going back to sleep. I’ll just take calc or something.” He felt someone pulling him back by his shirt.

“Every other class is closed and you said it yourself that if Tyki can do statistics, anyone can,” Nea said as he dragged Allen to the counter and placed him in front of one of the stools.

Allen sat down in between Nea and Tyki, avoiding eye contact with both as he grabbed the cereal box and a bowl from the center of the counter. “I’ll just pretend that I don’t know you.”

“Really because I recall that you-” Because Tyki was Tyki, Allen knew that sentence was going to end in blackmail.

“Shut up. I get it, okay?” Allen stopped to grit his teeth as he poured cereal into the bowl. “I know you.”

“Allen, be nice,” Mana said from the other side of Nea.

“Don’t want to,” Allen gritted out as he poured milk into his cereal.

“Be nice at school?” Nea suggested.

“Fine.” Allen started shoving cereal into his mouth because Tyki was right, he was running a little late.

“I can give you a ride, boy. Unless you enjoy death by choking on cereal.”

“No way in hell,” Allen mumbled through the cereal crammed into his cheeks. He wasn’t even really tasting his food at that point, just trying to finish it.

“I’ll drop you right in front of your class, so you have time to chew your food.”

Allen swallowed. “Fine.”

* * *

 

“So do you just not check who your professors are?” Tyki asked the second he had driven out of the driveway.

Allen crossed his arms and slid further down the leather seat. “No. Was I supposed to?”

Tyki sighed. “Freshman.”

“Shut up.”

“Did you at least know Lenalee Lee is in my class as well?”

Allen huffed. “Yes.” He slid back up the seat. “Is it going to be like this every morning?” He turned his head and leaned his cheek against the headrest only to find that Tyki was smirking.

“Doesn’t that sentence sound familiar.”

Allen felt his face heat up. “That wasn’t what you were going to tell them, right?”

“No, boy. I would be in trouble too. I was merely going to expose how much you gamble.”

Allen rolled his eyes. “Then go ahead. I don’t actually care.” Tyki looked almost hurt for a second and then it was gone and Tyki was driving the car like he would on any other day. Allen didn’t exactly blame him if he was upset.

They had been dating for five months and Allen had yet to tell Nea and Mana or really anybody. Nea and Mana kept telling him that he could tell them anything, so they probably knew at least that he was dating someone.

Then there was last Friday. Mana had been out of town on a business trip and Nea had been doing a concert in Germany, so Allen was free to leave their apartment and go to Tyki’s.

He almost expected Tyki not to answer the door, but he did. It was like he was just waiting for Allen to show up, which he probably wasn’t. He might have just been doing other things, but he let Allen in regardless.

The next morning, Allen had woken up to Tyki holding out a plate of pancakes and a mug of coffee. Allen had asked, “Is it going to be like this every morning after sex?”

To which Tyki answered, “Only for you, boy.”

“We’re here,” Tyki said, slowing the car down and snapping Allen out of his thoughts.

Allen grabbed his bag from the floor by the strap. “Thanks,” he said as he opened the door. He caught sight of Lenalee walking down the sidewalk and ran over to join her.

“Hey, you’re on time,” she said as he fell into step with her.

Allen adjusted the one strap he had on his shoulder. “I had a ride.”

“Mana or Nea?”

Allen looked forward at all the people bustling around. “Our statistics professor.”

“I was going to mention that your father’s mother’s sister-in-law’s ex-husband’s second son slash your family friend is teaching our class, but I figured you’d noticed.”

Allen didn’t get a chance to tell her that he hadn’t noticed, because they stopped at the entrance of the lecture hall. A few people were scattered about, but for the most part, it was empty.

He spotted the seats in the third row and decided that was a good bet. “So, are you dating someone?” Lenalee asked as they walked towards the seats.

“Yes.”

“I knew it. Lavi said you were late last Saturday, but you wouldn’t tell him where you were. Who is it?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

* * *

 

“I don’t know what to tell ya, Allen. I haven’t taken a science class in years,” Lavi said as they all walked to Lake Michigan.

Allen looked to his left. “Alma?”

He bit his lip. “Sorry, Allen. I’m taking senior level bio classes, so I can’t switch anything with you.” He pointed at Kanda with his free hand. “Have you asked Yuu?”

Allen watched as Kanda grumbled something in Japanese and started dragging Alma in the opposite direction. “We’re leaving.”

Alma looked over his shoulder. “Good luck, Allen.”

Allen grimaced. “Thanks.” He looked down at the grass and continued walking. The sound of water crashing against the shore got louder as they got closer.

“Allen, someone wrote you a love confession,” Lavi said.

He stopped walking and looked up to see Lavi pointing at a certain rock among many of the painted ones. Allen walked towards it and peeked off the edge of the mini cliff they were standing on. Painted on the rock were the words, “I love Allen Walker” followed by a royal straight flush in hearts.

He was pretty sure Lenalee had asked something as he started to speed-walk to the statistics department, but he was too pissed to comprehend it. He didn’t stop until he was standing in the doorway of Tyki’s office. He had slipped past several people on his way, but didn’t bother to pay much attention to them.

He stopped for a moment to catch his breath before walking in and slamming the door shut. Tyki was still looking down at whatever he was doing.

“What the fuck,” Allen said in Portuguese and that got Tyki to look up and put down his pen.

“You do realize the entire department can hear you, right?”

“Doesn’t mean they can understand me. Now explain the rock.”

“Well, rocks are a naturally occurring-”

“You know what I mean,” Allen interjected after huffing.

“It’s fairly self-explanatory.”

Allen leaned against the door and looked at the window behind Tyki. They were pretty high up, but he could see people milling about. “You love me.”

Tyki didn’t respond.

“I didn’t think you’d say it first.”

“I didn’t, boy. I’ll do it now, though. I love you.”

Allen’s heart was beating so fast that he had to fight to keep his voice even when he responded with, “I love you too.”

* * *

 

It was a few weeks later when Allen was stuck late at school. He had to practice this piece until it was perfect because he had been chosen to play in his recital class that Friday and he had to finish his composition for another class.

Lavi and Lenalee had been keeping him company, but Lenalee left around eleven when she finished all her homework. It wasn’t until 1 in the morning that Lavi stood up from his chair near the practice room door and said, “Well, you seem focused, so I’ll go unless you need me to stay.”

“No. Sorry for keeping you so late.”

Lavi smiled. “Well, you could finally tell all of us who you’re dating, but I already know, so you could tell Lenalee.”

Allen blinked. “You already know. Of course you already know. Let me tell-”

“Nea and Mana first. I know, Allen. Just don’t keep everyone in the dark too long.” He turned around and opened the door of the practice room. “And it sounds really good, by the way.”

“Thanks, Lavi,” Allen said as Lavi left, door swinging shut behind him.

Allen looked back at the piano keys and at the piece he was writing. He went back to work on the composition, the only thing he had left for the night.

The next time he stopped, his vision was a little blurry, his stomach was grumbling, and his fingers were aching, but he was finished. He picked up his phone from the top of the piano and sent a quick text to Mana, asking to be picked up. He yawned as he started putting his things away and once that was done, he reviewed the notes he had made on the piece he was playing in recital class later that day.

He was beginning to wonder if Mana was asleep when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out and saw that Tyki had texted, “I’m outside.”

Oh. He must have texted Tyki to pick him up at three in the morning. After picking up his bag, he scrambled out of the music building. Once outside, he spotted Tyki’s car, the lights seeming abnormally bright in the darkness. He had to squint as he walked up to the car and opened the door.

He hadn’t even realized how cold he was until he felt the hot air from Tyki’s car on his skin. “I texted you by accident.”

“I thought so, but I also thought I would pick you up anyway. Get in, boy.”

Allen slid into the car, placing his bag on the floor and closing the door. “We should tell them,” he said as he buckled his seatbelt. His eyes were already starting to close as he felt the car moving.

* * *

 

Allen woke up when he felt himself being placed on a couch. He opened his eyes and saw that Mana, Nea, and Tyki were all standing in front of him. “Uh. Hi?” he offered with a smile.

“Allen, would you like to show me your composition?” Mana asked, smiling at Allen liked he used to when something he was too young to see was about to happen. Allen looked over at Nea, who was staring at Tyki like the second Allen was gone he was going to kill Tyki.

“Yep, let’s go,” he said as he stood up, promptly going towards the extra room that housed their piano. He hadn’t seen his backpack and he didn’t want to look for it, so he would just play whatever he remembered.

He heard Mana close the door at he sat down at the piano bench, joined by Mana a moment later. “We’re not mad,” Mana began.

Allen looked over at him. He opened his mouth to say something when he saw that Mana was studying the inside of his mouth.

“What are you doing?” Allen asked, closing his mouth when he was finished.

Mana looked up from Allen’s mouth. “I was seeing if he gave you an STD. Also, you shouldn’t eat so much candy, it’s stuck to your molars.”

Allen scooted away, bringing one hand up to cover his mouth. “That’s gross.” He was beginning to wonder just how much Tyki had told them.

“You’re not in trouble, but six months is a long time to keep a relationship secret. We can’t treat you like an adult if you don’t act like one, Allen.”

“Shut up,” Allen grumbled as he looked at the piano and started playing the first thing that came to mind. It wasn’t his piece and was definitely darker than anything he’d write.

“We just want to make sure you’re safe, Allen.”

“Well I am. So stop worrying.” He pressed the keys harder. “You and Uncle Nea always do this. When I had my first kiss, you took me to the doctor to make sure I didn’t have mono. It was okay back then, but I’m an adult now, dad.”

Allen stopped playing when he felt Mana’s hand on his head. “I know, Allen. Just promise that you’ll tell us if you end up in trouble, okay?”

He sighed. “Okay. I promise.” He began playing his composition and he felt Mana take his hand away. “So what is Uncle Nea doing to Tyki?”

“I have no idea, Allen. We decided a long time ago that when this happened, Nea would handle that and I would handle this.”

Allen didn’t stop playing, but his fingers faltered against the keys. “Well that can’t be good.”

* * *

 

“He’s a baby,” Nea said the second he heard the door shut, feeling so glad that room had been soundproofed.

Tyki looked over at him, eyebrow raised. “You realize he’s an adult, right?”

“No, he’s not! He’s a baby that needs to be protected from perverts like you.” Nea smirked as he crossed his arms, feeing rather smug.

Tyki raised his other eyebrow. “You’re delusional, Nea.” With a sigh, he turned around and started walking over to the door. “Let me know how that goes for y-” He made an odd noise when Nea reached out and grabbed him by the back of his shirt. Nea dragged him back towards the couch and shoved him onto the piece of furniture.

“Sit.”

“Do I have a choice?” Tyki asked. Nea really hated that small smirk right at that moment.

“He may be an adult, but he’s still capable of making bad decisions. Do I need to remind you of all the dumb things you did when you were eighteen?”

Tyki leaned back, sinking into the couch. He was still smirking and it had just gotten more annoying. “Go ahead. We both know none of it was that bad and Allen is far more mature than any of us were at his age.”

Nea sighed. “That doesn’t mean he’s perfect and you’re a bad influence.”

“I have a Ph.D, a job that will last until I die, and an apartment bigger than this one. How exactly am I a bad influence?”

Nea huffed. “You gamble and you’re dating a student.” The look on Tyki’s face suggested that most of that was irrelevant. “Tell me what you know.”

“Allen gambles and he wasn’t my student when we started dating.”

Nea frowned. “When did he…” He glanced at the closed door to the piano room. “Promise not to tell Mana and I promise to let you date Allen as long as he’s happy.” He looked back at Tyki, who had stood up. “One more thing though, because I know Mana wants to know.” He paused because he didn’t want the answer, but he had to ask. Closing his eyes, he asked, “Do you have any STDs?”

“No.”

Nea opened his eyes and sighed in relief at the quick response. He decided to take it as absolute fact because it was getting close to four in the morning and Allen would just kick Tyki if something happened.

* * *

 

After Tyki had left, Nea had opened the door of the piano room, walking in and closing it as quietly as possible upon seeing that Allen had fallen asleep with his head on Mana’s shoulder.

He padded his way over to the piano and sat next to Allen on the bench. He looked over Allen and at Mana, who was brushing Allen’s hair away from his forehead. “I asked Tyki and he said Allen would be fine skipping statistics today and getting the notes from Lenalee later.”

Mana looked up at Nea. “You’re home until four, right? So you can make sure he makes it to his other classes?”

Nea nodded. “And before you ask, Mana, Tyki’s all clean.”

Mana looked down at Allen. “Good. Other than that I think Allen’s perfectly capable of handling himself.” He stood up, picking up Allen bridal-style as he did so. “I’ll get Allen to bed,” he said as he left the room.

Nea kept his eyes on the shiny blackness of the piano as he heard the door open and Mana’s footsteps pad through the apartment. Nea wished that he didn’t have a concert because he wasn’t sure how Allen turning in his composition would go. Nea didn’t doubt that it was beautiful, but he had certainly had his fair share of rejection like most musicians, so he knew that was bound to happen at some point.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tyki does a surprising amount of laundry in this chapter.

The second Allen walked out of his composition class, heart still pounding and his brain still trying to process what had just happened, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He quickly walked farther away from the music building and stopped on the edge of the sidewalk before answering it.

“I have two minutes. How did it go?” Nea asked. Allen could hear violins in the background. He must already be at his concert and had taken the time to call Allen. So Allen smiled to stop himself from crying.

“Great.”

“Really?”

Allen swallowed. “Yeah. What? You have no faith in me?” Because he didn’t have any in himself anymore.

“No, of course I do, Allen. Just know that no matter what, I’m always proud of you.”

Allen was just about to burst into tears and tell Nea that it had gone terribly when Nea said, “Oh, I have to go. I’ll see you tonight.”

Allen bit his lip, both to stop from crying and to stop himself from asking Nea not to go. “Of course. Good luck.”

“I love you.”

“Love you too,” Allen mumbled as he ended the call. After putting his phone away, he continued walking. He wasn’t exactly sure where he was going, but he was definitely going to find some alcohol and lots of it.

* * *

 

At 6:02 pm, Tyki walked past the music building and he noticed that Allen was stumbling out of the entrance. “Boy?” he asked.

Allen looked up and blinked his bloodshot eyes. He smiled after another moment. “Tyki!” He stumbled over to Tyki, tripping several times but somehow managing to not fall on the concrete sidewalk.

“Are you high?” Tyki asked when Allen stopped right in front of him. Allen could have just been drunk, which he certainly was based on how he smelled like he had taken a bath in alcohol, but he had such a high alcohol tolerance that Tyki wasn’t sure if Allen could get drunk.

Allen placed both his hands on Tyki’s mouth and said, “Shhhhhhhh.” They were a lot warmer than Tyki had expected. Once Allen seemed satisfied that he wouldn’t be interrupted, Allen dropped his hands. “No.” He paused for a moment and just stared at Tyki. “I’m not.”

“What happened?”

Allen frowned. “Nothing. I don’t have to tell you everything,” he slurred, sticking his tongue out when he was finished. His eyes started watering and without any further prompting, he sobbed out, “They told me that I’m a mildly decent piano player, but my composition was drivel and I can’t ride on the coattails of my uncle forever.” Tears rolled down his flushed cheeks.

“You did this in an hour?” Tyki asked.

Allen nodded, biting his lip. “Sorry.”

Tyki sighed. “I don’t even know why you’re apologizing. Where does Mana think you are?”

“Dinner.” Allen didn’t provide more information than that so Tyki just assumed he meant with Lavi and Lenalee.

“That explains why he’s not looking for you.” Allen nodded and then stumbled back slightly. “I’ll take you home. Do you need me to carry you?”

“No, I got it.”

* * *

 

“I’m not a baby,” Allen mumbled as Tyki carried him bridal style up to the apartment.

Tyki didn’t bother to comment since Allen was still drunk and apparently very irritable if their car ride consisting of Allen yelling, crying, or both was anything to go by.

He stopped in front of the apartment door and kicked it with his foot a few times. A few moments later, Mana opened the door.

“What happened?” he asked, looking at Allen with worried eyes.

Allen just started crying, shaking in Tyki’s arms. “His music classes didn’t go well.” He cried harder, sobbing something about being a failure.

“He’s drunk.” Mana sighed and motioned for Tyki to come in.

Once Tyki was inside, he walked over to the couch and set Allen down, making sure he was sitting upright before turning around to face Mana. Before Tyki could ask how they were going to fix this, Mana said, “He needs Nea and to be less drunk, but mostly Nea. There isn’t anything we can say that would mean enough right now.”

Tyki heard a soft thud and turned around to find Allen lying in the fetal position. “I think I’m going to be sick.” He heard some rustling and then Mana slid past him holding a trashcan and offered it to Allen.

* * *

 

Allen woke up with a pounding headache and the taste of vomit lingering in his mouth. He vaguely remembered doing a lot of crying and drinking in one of the practice rooms after his dreams had been crushed.

“Oh, he’s awake,” he heard Nea say.

Allen opened his eyes and noticed that he was staring at the coffee table and that his eyes really wanted to close again. He squinted against the bright lights of the living room as he sat up and brought his knees close to his chest.

“What time is it?” he asked. Mana and Nea were sitting on the couch on the other side of the coffee table.

“Just after 1. Good timing too since I just got home.”

Allen winced at how loud Nea sounded. He didn’t get to respond, though, because Nea was dragging him to the piano room by his arm. The first thing Allen noticed when he sat down on the bench was that his composition was just sitting there, waiting to be played.

“Play it for me,” Nea said and Allen felt the bench shift as Nea sat down.

“It’s awful, though.”

“No, it’s not. Play it for me.”

He was tired and hungover, so he decided that maybe playing it would get them to leave him alone. He placed his fingers on the keys and started playing, keeping his eyes on the music.

He heard a soft gasp, but it sounded too far away to be Nea. Allen’s fingers shook, but he kept playing until the very end. He didn’t even realize that he was practically hyperventilating, head spinning slightly as he played the last note.

“Allen, that was…” Nea paused and Allen’s empty stomach filled with dread. Or maybe that was nausea from his hangover.

“Beautiful?” he heard Tyki supply.

“I’m not sure the word does it justice, but close enough,” Nea said.

“Angelic?” Mana offered.

Allen looked to his right and at Nea, who was still on the bench and Mana and Tyki, who were in the doorway. “What are you talking about?”

Nea shook his head and smiled. “Allen, everybody gets told they’re terrible. It doesn’t mean you’re actually terrible. You won’t remember this, but I spent the first four years of your life poor and jobless.”

“But you’re you. You’re Nea Walker: famous musician.”

Nea placed his hand on Allen’s shoulder. “And you’re Allen Walker: fantastic composer.” Allen swallowed down the guilt he felt. “I mean it. Nothing good you do is caused by me in any way. I wish I could take credit for your inevitable success, but I’m just your uncle.”

“I’ll take the credit, if no one wants it,” Tyki said, smirking.

Allen smiled as he grabbed a pencil off the top of the piano and threw it at Tyki, who ducked out of the way just in time.

* * *

 

Allen walked into the kitchen around 1:30 pm after waking up. He noticed a note on the counter that read, “Went to pick up food. Be back before 2.” He briefly wondered when they would be back before hearing the door open.

“Allen?” Mana asked. He heard bags rustling and the door shutting.

“Kitchen.”

Allen looked up from the note just as Mana and Nea entered the kitchen, each holding a plastic bag. The smell of Chinese food wafted through the kitchen and Allen’s mouth started watering.

“Feeling better?” Mana asked as they set the bags on the counter.

“Uh, yeah.” He watched as Nea untied one of the bags. He swallowed. “But I skipped dinner and breakfast.” He looked up at Nea and offered him his best puppy dog eyes.

Nea shook his head and started taking out boxes. “Good to see you’re actually feeling better, both physically and mentally.”

Allen smiled and swiped one of the boxes off the table. “I am.” He looked down at the box and opened it, only to find that it was just rice.

“Your teacher sent you an email by the way,” Mana said as Allen reached for a second box.

Allen’s hand stopped halfway to the food and he looked at Nea and Mana. “And?” He wasn’t even mad that they had checked his school email because it didn’t matter that much. He was far more concerned about what it could have possibly said.

“She said that she may have been too harsh yesterday and she thought for some reason that I had written your composition. So now she would like you to know that she has faith in your future.” Nea smiled; it wasn’t one of those happy, nice ones and Allen was glad it wasn’t for him. “She’s scared of you because one day when you’re famous enough, you could kill her entire career with just a few words.”

Allen opened his mouth to respond and then closed it because he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say to that.

“Having people scared of you is a good thing sometimes.” Nea slid a box over to him. “Now eat something before you pass out.”

He smiled. “Okay.”

* * *

 

Allen stepped out of the bathroom, almost running into Nea, who was standing in front of the door, an amused smile on his face. “Why did you bother to fix your hair if it’s just going to get messed up again?”

It only took Allen a moment to realize what that meant and then he stuck his tongue out. “Shut up.”

Nea chuckled as walked into the bathroom. “Have fun,” he said before closing the door.

Allen glared at the wall in front of him before muttering, “Not funny.”

“Allen, will you be home tonight?”

He looked to his left and saw Mana smiling, although there was worry in his eyes. What was even the appropriate response to that question? Allen opened his mouth to say literally anything, but he heard Nea say, “Mana, what do you think?”

He gritted his teeth. “Shut. Up.”

Mana just shook his head and kept smiling. “Don’t forget about the concert tomorrow morning,” was all he said before walking away.

“I hate you,” Allen mumbled.

“No you don’t,” Nea said back. Even though Nea was saying it jokingly because he knew Allen didn’t mean it, Allen felt his heart clench at the memories of Nea taking care of him while Mana was in a coma. They had been a mess, but even though Nea wasn’t quite as cheerful as Mana, they had made it through.

“Good luck at your concert,” Allen said, possibly too soft for Nea to hear.

“Thanks. Now go have fun. It’s Saturday night and you’re hangover-free; no reason for you to be standing in a hallway talking to your boring uncle.”

Allen couldn’t help but smile. “See you tomorrow,” he said as he walked away, reaching into his pocket to make sure he had his key, which he did. He didn’t see Mana on his way out, so he said, “Love you, dad. See you tomorrow,” as he placed his hand on the doorknob.

“Be safe.”

Allen was still smiling as he opened the door and left the apartment. He noticed several of the doors had loud music blasting through them as he walked through the apartment building.

A light spray hit him in the face as he opened the building door. He flipped his hood up and walked outside, sighing when rain continued to hit him in the face because of the wind. He quickly made his way onto the campus, cutting across it and popping out the other side before stopping in front of Tyki’s apartment building.

He didn’t know why his heart was beating faster than it should have or why he was barely even registering the cold even though his jacket was damp and his face was wet.

The door was swung open and Allen blinked a few times at Tyki. “Is standing out in the rain better than spending time with me, boy?”

Allen rolled his eyes as he looked up at Tyki’s smirking face. “I was thinking. Maybe you should try it sometime.”

Tyki’s smirk didn’t leave his face. “Well the first time you do something is usually quite difficult.”

Allen smirked back. “Does that tend to keep happening for you? Because that might explain why you’re just so terrible at poker.” By the time Allen finished his sentence, he was on his tiptoes and staring directly into Tyki’s eyes, which were mere centimeters away.

His plan evidently didn’t work because even if Tyki didn’t have a verbal response, he still had a way of turning the tables on Allen by picking him up bridal style.

“Tyki, what are you doing?” Allen asked, now being walked up the stairs.

“It’s much nicer to carry you when you’re not drunk.”

He was much warmer and drier than Allen was and that slowed Allen’s heart rate a little. “Sorry about that.”

Allen watched as Tyki leaned down and kissed the top of his head. “It’s okay,” he whispered against Allen’s hair before pulling away. Allen swallowed, still looking at Tyki, who asked, “Did you shower recently?” as he opened the door.

“Uh, yeah. I woke up sort of late.”

Tyki deposited Allen on the ground once they were inside the apartment.

Allen felt fur brush up against his leg. “Meow?” He looked down and saw a small black fur-ball with golden eyes.

“Hi, Joyd,” he said as he picked up the cat, cradling him to his chest. He scratched behind Joyd’s ears, which were tucked behind fluffy fur. He felt another fur-ball brush against his leg followed by a slight hiss.

Allen looked down once more. “Desires?” He looked at Tyki, who was busying himself with the coat rack. “Did you steal your brother’s cat?”

Tyki turned around and looked at Allen. “Steal?” He smirked. “I’d prefer to think of it more as an adoption that only Tricia knows about.”

Allen’s eyes widened. “She just gave you the cat? Why?”

“Allergies, but if you put Joyd down, I think you’ll see that Desires missed him terribly.” Allen did as told and set Joyd back on the ground. After hissing at Allen one last time, Desires bumped his face into Joyd and then tackled him to the ground.

“For ten year old cats, they sure are lively,” Allen said, watching Desires and Joyd playfully tackle each other to the ground as Tyki dragged him towards the kitchen.

“Come along, boy, they’ll continue doing that until I leave as they always do. It’s a ploy to get food.”

Allen smiled. “Does it work?” He finally turned around just as they stopped in the kitchen.

“It will until they throw up on things I like,” Tyki said, walking over to the counter after letting go of Allen.

Allen didn’t bother to ask about them throwing up on things Tyki didn’t like because he knew for a fact that Joyd threw up on plenty of things. Instead, he stared at the cutting board filled with uncooked vegetables and meat. He pouted. “No food?” As an answer, Tyki picked up the cutting board and tilted it into a foil lined baking dish. Allen watched as Tyki took the dish and placed it into the oven.

He looked up just as the oven closed and Tyki asked, “Happy?”

“Very,” Allen responded while Tyki set the timer. He unzipped his jacket and shrugged it off, hood and all. Tyki passed by him, grabbing the jacket from him on the way.

“I’ll dry this for you.”

Allen turned to watch him leave. “You have a dryer in your apartment?”

Tyki stopped in front of what Allen always thought was a closet. “It’s right here,” he said as he opened the door.

“I should just move in here.”

“I have no objections to that.” The dryer door was opened. Allen heard the zipper from his jacket hit the inside before the door was shut and the dryer was turned on.

“I was kidding.”

“And I wasn’t.”

As if they weren’t just talking about such a huge decision, Tyki closed the door and sauntered back into the kitchen, stopping in front of Allen. He placed his hand in front of Allen’s mouth. “What are you doing?” Allen asked.

“Ah, so you are still breathing.”

Allen smacked the hand away. “Not funny.”

Tyki shrugged as he reached into his front pocket and pulled out a key. Allen stared at it as it sat on Tyki’s open palm. “It’s a key. You know, the thing you use to unlock doors.”

“But why are you giving it to me?”

“So you can open the door, boy. Would you prefer to pick the lock instead?”

Instead of thinking about the situation, Allen took note of the light glinting off the key. After about three seconds of that, he was starting to realize that maybe the weird feeling in his stomach was nervousness and he should do something about it other than stare.

“You want me to be able to open your door?”

Allen watched as Tyki’s hand slowly began to retreat. “If you didn’t want it, you could have just said so.”

“Wait,” Allen said, placing his hand on Tyki’s. He looked up. “I do want it.” Allen didn’t know why he hadn’t heard it, but Tyki was smirking at him. Allen glared. “Give me the key.”

“So adorable,” Tyki said as he dropped the key into Allen’s hand. It was just as warm as the hand pressing it into Allen’s. He stopped glaring and was about to say something when Tyki leaned down and kissed him briefly, whispering, “I love you,” as he pulled away.

Allen stood there, with his mouth parted for a few seconds before his brain caught up and he responded, “I love you too.” He pulled his hand away and shoved the key in his pocket, right next to his other keys.

The oven made a popping noise and one of the cats hissed in response. Allen smiled as he looked towards the doorway, where they had left the cats. “Is that a ploy for food too?”

“No, they think the oven is going to kill them, along with the vacuum.” Tyki ended his sentence by grabbing Allen’s hand. “Let’s play cards,” he said, leading Allen into the living room.

Allen smirked. “Why do you even bother, Tyki?”

“Oh, we’re not playing poker.”

Allen blinked. “Blackjack?” Given that it was the one card game Tyki could beat Allen at, it wasn’t too surprising.

“No.” Allen wasn’t sure if he liked the sound of that tone. When Tyki stopped them in front of the coffee table, which had a small red contraption on it, Allen was absolutely sure this wasn’t going to go well for him.

“What is that?” he asked, pointing at the coffee table.

Tyki looked over his shoulder and smirked. “We’re playing Uno Attack.”

Allen sighed and shook his head. “You will do anything to win, won’t you?” He leaned down and looked at the button. “What does this do?” He pressed it and was immediately shot in the nose with a card. He heard another hiss as he reached up to place a hand on his nose.

“Great, right?”

Allen looked back at Tyki and glared. “We are not playing this.”

“Does that mean I win?”

Allen gritted his teeth and stood up straight. “Fine.” He smirked. “But just sit in front of it for a second.”

Tyki shrugged. “Sure.” He let go of Allen’s hand and sat down on the floor, in front of the Uno Attack machine. Allen leaned down and pressed the button again, but it just clicked and nothing happened.

Before Tyki could say anything, Allen started smashing the button until it started launching cards, which somehow managed to shoot past Tyki and go most likely towards the cats with all the hissing.

Allen looked back and saw about six cards on the floor near the door, surrounding Joyd and Desires. He snapped his fingers at them as he turned around and the cats came running towards him.

He knelt on the ground and petted both of them on their heads. “Sorry.” They both purred and nuzzled his hands. “That seems dangerous.”

“Oh, it is. Road asked me to fix it for her, so I let the engineering department have their fun with it.”

Allen rolled his eyes. “Lovely.”

“Speaking of my lovely family, what do you think of you, Nea, and Mana spending Thanksgiving with us?”

Allen’s hands stopped petting the cats. “Uh, sure.” North Chicago was the very last place he wanted to spend his Thanksgiving, but he would go anyways. He went back to petting the cats, mostly because they were glaring at him.

“And if it’s terrible, the four of us can just escape to downtown.”

“Hmm.” Allen smiled. “Sounds like a terrible plan.” He scratched behind Joyd’s ears. “You’re so adorable.”

“You’d make a good parent.”

Allen stopped petting the cats and dropped his hands to his sides. “What?”

“Nothing.” Allen looked over his shoulder just as Tyki was walking away. “I’ll go check on dinner.”

* * *

 

Allen put his fork down on his now empty plate. He looked over at Tyki, who was sitting next to him at the counter. Tyki smiled at him. “Yes?”

The taste of wine still lingered on Allen’s tongue as he leaned in to kiss Tyki. “I need you,” he whispered against Tyki’s lips as he pulled away. He immediately felt himself blushing because they had had sex once and Allen hadn’t initiated it. But the smirk that appeared on Tyki’s face was enough for Allen to know that was the right thing to say.

“Then let me help you with that.” They were still so close that Allen could feel Tyki’s hot breath ghosting over his skin.

Allen swallowed and nodded, still feeling the dizzying effects of the alcohol in his system. He wasn’t drunk by any means, but he was tipsy enough that when Tyki grabbed his hands and led him out of the kitchen, he felt like his feet were gliding across the floor.

His heart was racing as Tyki stopped in the doorway of his room and brushed his lips against Allen’s.

Allen tried to follow Tyki as he pulled away, letting out a small whine as he got up on his tiptoes. “Now, now, boy,” Tyki said, smirking again. He leaned back down to look directly into Allen’s eyes. “Why don’t you let me take care of everything?”

Allen offered Tyki his puppy dog eyes. “Please?”

He wasn’t sure what exactly he was asking for, but Tyki straightened up, shrugged, and said, “Go ahead, boy.” With shaking fingers, Allen reached out and started unbuttoning Tyki’s shirt.

“Wear less complicated things,” he grumbled.

“Anything for you, boy.”

* * *

 

There was something furry in Allen’s face, probably a tail. He opened his eyes and saw Desires right in front of him, head tilted to the side.

“Pretend you’re asleep, boy. It’s six in the morning,” Tyki whispered.

Allen closed his eyes. “Good?” he whispered back.

There was no answer, but he did feel fur on his nose. A moment later, he felt the bed shift and then he heard the soft sound of a cat’s paws connecting with the ground.

“They’re go-“

“Shhhhh.”

“Meow.”

Allen held his breath as he waited for the sound of paws padding against the carpet. Five seconds later he let out a sigh of relief when he heard them and they sounded far enough away. He opened his eyes and stared at the empty space of bed sheet in front of him. “Did that happen last time?” he asked, reaching up to trace the pattern with his finger.

“Yes. You were sound asleep though, but they do this every morning. If I feed them so early, they’ll be pissed by the time I get home for their dinner and I have no desire to clean up cat vomit.”

Allen smiled and stopped his finger. It was only then that his eyes migrated to his arm and he realized he was wearing a shirt. He pinched the edge of the sleeve. “Did you put clothes on me?”

“You looked cold.”

Warmth spread through Allen’s heart. “Thank you.” He smiled when Tyki wrapped one arm around him and pulled him closer.

“I hope you don’t mind wearing my shirt,” Tyki whispered and Allen felt warm breath on his ear. “Your clothes are in the dryer and they should be done before you need to leave.”

Allen shivered. “Well if you keep doing my laundry, I might just have to move in here.” Before Tyki could inevitably respond that he had no problem with that, Allen added, “But since you’re still my statistics professor, I think I’ll wait.”

He heard and felt Tyki sigh.

Allen smirked. “You’re the one who was so happy about being my professor.”

Tyki kissed his neck. “That’s because I love you.”

* * *

 

Allen stopped outside the door and leaned closer to it. “Do you hear that?”

“The voices? You know you live with people, right?”

Before Allen could tell Tyki to talk quieter and then explain that those were definitely the voices of his friends, Lenalee opened the door.

She looked down at Allen and Tyki’s connected hands.

“Gee, Allen, weren’t you wearing those clothes yesterday?” Nea asked and Allen watched him take a sip of his coffee and smirk.

Lenalee looked up at Allen. “Are you dating our statistics professor?” He wasn’t sure what she was feeling, but she looked ready to react to his answer.

“Yes.”

Her face broke out into a smile. “I’m so happy for you.”

He smiled back, although maybe not quite as enthusiastically. “Thanks, Lenalee.”

“Allen.” Alma said and when Allen looked past Lenalee and at him, he motioned his head towards Nea.

Allen shifted his eyes to Nea. “Shouldn’t you be leaving?”

Nea shook his head and held up his hand, which was wrapped in beige bandage. “I fucked up my hand so I can’t play under the threat of Mana cutting it off.”

Mana turned around and looked at Nea. “I never said I would cut it off. I said it would fall off if you try to play with it now.”

Nea rolled his eyes. “Same thing, Mana. Anyways, now I’ve left them to find a replacement to play a piano concerto on a Sunday morning.”

“I vote we don’t go then,” Kanda said.

“Hopefully they can find someone,” Allen said, ignoring Kanda.

“Yuu, don’t be rude,” Alma chastised.

Seeing as how they did actually have to figure out a plan and as always, Allen’s friends were early, Tyki and Allen entered the apartment and walked into the kitchen where everyone else was.

Allen stopped next to Lavi just as his phone started ringing. He let go of Tyki’s hand to answer it. “Hello?” It was an unknown number and basically everyone he knew was in his kitchen, but it could have been important.

“Is this Allen Walker?”

“Yes?”

Lavi must have been close enough to hear the other end of the line because he snorted.

Allen just rolled his eyes at him.

“Do you by chance know how to play Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto Number 1?”

“Yes. I do, but-” He abruptly cut himself off when he remembered who had played that exact piece for the past two nights. “Is this the Chicago Symphony Orchestra?”

The woman on the other end laughed. “I’m not the entire orchestra, nor do I play anything in it, but I am calling for them. If you can make it over here, we would be delighted to have you play as a substitute for Nea Walker. Oh, how funny that you two have the same last name.”

“I’m not sure if I c-” He felt Lavi hit him on the shoulder.

“Say yes, Allen,” he whispered, smiling at Allen like he really, truly believed in him.

Allen moved the phone away from his mouth and pressed it closer to his neck. “Lavi, it’s just because of who my uncle is.”

“Allen, she’s shocked that you two share a very common last name. She has no idea that you’re related.”

“The conductor could.”

“They wouldn’t let you unless they knew you were good,” Nea said and Mana hummed in agreement.

Allen put the phone back near his mouth. “I can be there in thirty minutes.”

“Fantastic. Do you need directions?”

He looked up at Nea and smiled. “I think I’m okay.”

“Call if you get lost and thank you so much for doing this on such short notice.”

After she hung up, Allen placed his phone in his pocket. His heart was racing and he knew it was from nervousness and excitement. “I should change.”

Nea and Mana smiled at him and he could just feel how proud they were. “I’ll drive,” Mana said.

Allen nodded as he walked to his room. He was feeling a bit dazed, but he didn’t think that warranted him not driving. Then he realized that Mana could get them there faster than he could.

“I’ll help you,” Tyki said and Allen could hear his footsteps following him.

Allen walked into his room and slammed the door shut. “No.”

He walked over to his closet and dug out his usual concert attire, changing as fast as possible.

He didn’t remember his mouth being so dry before a concert or even an audition. He didn’t remember his hands ever shaking so much and that was saying a lot. He had to calm down about screwing up or he would actually screw up.

Once he was dressed, he walked to the door, shaking his hands out. He was trying to get rid of his nerves and trying to get rid of the cold sweat on his hands. He opened his door, handle slipping across his skin slightly and making his heart jump into his throat. He needed to calm down or his hands would slide all over the piano and it would sound terrible.

“Okay, let’s go.”

They had all migrated much closer to his door and were staring at him like that was the wrong thing to say.

Mana took a few steps closer and started fixing Allen’s hair. “You’ll be okay. Just remember that we’re always proud of you.”

Allen swallowed. “Okay.” He was nauseous.

“And because we love you, we know that you might need this,” Nea said, holding a small wine glass in front of Allen’s face. Mana retreated as Allen took the glass out of Nea’s hand.

He drank the whole thing in one gulp, noting just how terrible and weird it tasted. He didn’t have time to worry about it though, he had a concert to get to.

“I’ll go over the notes in my music while we’re in the car,” Nea said as he took the glass from Allen.

* * *

 

“Allen, that was amazing,” Alma said as they stood outside the concert hall. He sounded like he had been waiting to say that since the moment the concert finished.

“Seriously, Allen, I’ve never heard you play like that and you’re always amazing,” Lavi said.

“We should take you out to lunch,” Lenalee said. She turned around and looked at Kanda. “You drove here, so we can take your car, right?”

“Fine.”

He smiled at them as best he could, although he was feeling rather uncomfortable. “I’ll be there in a second.” They left him alone with Tyki, Nea, and Mana.

“For the love of God, Allen, that was pomegranate juice and a tiny bit of mint toothpaste,” Nea said.

Allen blinked and looked over at him. “What?”

“We know that look, Allen. You were worried that you’re not good enough on your own,” Mana said, placing a hand on Allen’s head and smiling gently at him.

“And you’re terrible at taking praise,” Tyki added.

Allen groaned, looking over at Tyki. “Thanks.” He flicked his eyes back over to Nea. “And you didn’t have to put the toothpaste in it.”

“That was Lavi. I suggested that we just give you a shot of water. Also, you just played with one of the top orchestras in the world and you’re complaining about toothpaste, Allen. _Toothpaste_.”

Allen rolled his eyes, but didn’t get to respond because Mana crushed him into a hug. “Good job. I’m proud of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This would have been up sooner, but I forgot how long it was so editing it with my beta reader/sister took longer than I expected, but she's awesome and she finished proofreading it today. 
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is super late. The fourth chapter is done and almost edited, so I'll post it later today or tomorrow. Thank you so much if you're still reading this :)

A couple of weeks later, it was nine at night and the day of his statistics midterm as well as the day that he had a composition due. Both had gone fine, but he was tired and by the time he realized he had been walking the wrong way, he was already too far from his apartment to care. On top of that, he was walking in the direction of Tyki’s apartment, so he just kept walking.

When he got there, the cats were standing in front of the door and Tyki’s shoes weren’t there. Allen dropped his bag near the door and fed the cats. He ate the leftover Indian food in the fridge and then wrote a note explaining how he wasn’t sorry.

By the time all of that was done, it was 10:15 and Tyki still wasn’t home. So Allen laid down in Tyki’s bed. He wasn’t planning on falling asleep, but he was warm and full and lying on a soft bed that was covered in the smell of Tyki’s laundry detergent. He felt his eyelids getting heavier and he didn’t bother to fight it. He just let himself drift off into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

 

When Tyki walked into his apartment, the first thing he noticed was Allen’s bag and shoes were sitting by the door and the second thing he noticed was that the cats were asleep in the living room and there was no vomit in sight.

He noticed a piece of paper on the counter and walked towards it. It was a wonderful note describing in detail how Allen had eaten what was supposed to be Tyki’s dinner. Seeing as how he didn’t have much but things he would need to cook, he decided it was time to go to sleep.

He stopped in his doorway, having forgotten for a moment that Allen was in his bed, sleeping. There was enough light in the rest of the apartment for him to see how Allen’s bangs had fallen onto his nose and it was twitching.

He smiled as he walked over to Allen. He leaned down and brushed the hair out of Allen’s face. He traced the line of the birthmark on the left side of Allen’s face. It always fascinated him how odd of a shape it was.

“Five more minutes,” Allen whined.

Tyki chuckled. He went back to pushing Allen’s hair away from his face. “It’s only midnight. You have six and a half more hours.”

Allen opened his eyes and glared. “Then why are you in my room?”

“You’re in my apartment, boy,” Tyki said, letting his hand drop to his side.

He closed his eyes again and rolled over to face away from Tyki. “Then hurry up and get in your bed. I’m cold.”

Tyki leaned forward and kissed the top of Allen’s head. “So demanding, boy. First you eat my dinner and now you’re sleeping in my bed.”

“Shhh.”

He rolled his eyes and wondered what he had just done.

* * *

 

“Allen, hurry up. I don’t want to get stuck in traffic,” he heard Nea call. Allen just rolled his eyes as he continued his packing. It seemed he was spending a bit too much time at Tyki’s place and half of his clothes had ended up there.

He closed what had become his drawer, having retrieved the rest of the things he wanted to pack.

“I’m almost done!” he yelled, shoving everything into his bag and then zipping it closed. He grabbed his bag from the bed and walked out of the room. “Let’s go.”

By the time he finished his sentence, Nea had already opened the door that they were standing in front of. Allen followed them out to the car, dropping his bag in the trunk before joining Tyki in the back.

“Gummy worm?” Tyki asked, holding a white plastic bag out for Allen.

“Yes. Thank you.” Allen took one and placed one end in his mouth. He looked out the window and watched the trees go by as they drove.

“Hello?” Tyki asked. Allen was about to look over and ask whom Tyki could possibly be talking to, but Tyki said, “We just left. Allen needed to pick up a few things from my apartment.” He paused for a moment. “Hello, Tricia. No, we’re not living together.” He sighed. “No, Sheril.”

Allen swallowed his chewed up gummy worm and looked over at Tyki, who was already putting his phone back in his pocket. “What did he say?”

Tyki shook his head. “He just asked if we had plans to get married.”

“Oh, that’s-” Allen felt his phone buzzing. “Hold on.” He pulled the phone out of his pocket and answered it. “Alma?”

“He said yes!”

Allen winced. “What?”

“Yuu!”

He crinkled his nose. “Me?”

“Boy, he’s talking about Kanda,” Tyki said, an amused look on his face.

“Kanda?” Allen asked quietly and then he realized what Alma might be talking about. “Oh, you’re getting married.”

“That’s right. And guess who’s going to be my best man.”

“Bak?”

Tyki rolled his eyes.

“Other one, Allen,” Alma said, sounding as if it should have been obvious.

“Oh, me.” He smiled. “Really?”

“Yes, really.”

He faintly heard Kanda saying something in Japanese in the background.

“Oh, I have to go. We’ll talk about this after break. Have fun.”

“Yeah, you too. Congrats.”

Nea honked. “There’s space. Move.”

“Yep. Fun,” Alma said before hanging up.

Once Allen had pocketed his phone, he leaned his head against the headrest and looked straight ahead at the long line of cars in front of them.

“So, Kanda and Alma are getting married?” Mana asked.

Allen smiled. “Yeah. No surprise considering they’ve been dating forever.” Before he could close his mouth after finishing his sentence, Tyki fed him a gummy worm. “Thanks,” he mumbled, chewing on it.

“It’s going to be a long trip, boy.”

“Who were you texting in the car?” Allen asked as they grabbed all of their bags.

Tyki smirked at Allen, handing a bag to Nea. “You’ll see, boy.”

* * *

 

Allen slammed the trunk closed. “I’m not sure if I want to, Tyki.” Without bothering to check if they were following, he walked across the concrete driveway towards the house, taking quick steps because it was cold out.

The house was bigger than he remembered. He had only been there once, though, so he wasn’t exactly used to seeing a house so big. While he was busy staring at the door and thinking about how tall it was, it opened.

“Hello, Allen,” Tricia said, holding a martini in one hand and the door with the other.

“I thought you didn’t drink.”

She smiled. “I don’t. This is for Tyki.” She reached behind Allen and he turned around and watched as Tyki downed the whole thing, olive and all, in one gulp.

“We’ve been here for one minute.”

“Four days, boy,” he said, shoving Allen lightly to get him to go inside.

He rolled his eyes and turned back around. Tricia had also moved out of the way to allow them to go in. The second they were inside, a maid was taking their bags from them.

“Oh, thank you,” Allen said, smiling.

“Allen!” He was suddenly being hugged by Road. The force almost knocked him backwards, but Nea caught him.

“Thanks,” he mumbled while they all let each other go.

“Road, could you please refrain from trying to kill my boyfriend.”

She popped her gum at him. “I’ll do what I want.”

“Sheril, your child is threatening murder,” Tyki called.

“And I couldn’t be prouder,” he called back.

“Who wants a drink?” Tricia asked. They didn’t even have to answer and she was already walking to the living room with all of them following her.

Allen stopped when he saw that there was an actual bar in their living room. “Do you mind if I?” he asked, gesturing to the bar top.

Tricia turned around and looked at Allen. “Oh, of course.” She smoothed down the skirt of her dress. “Have fun. I’ll go find Wisely.” As she went in the direction of the stairs, Allen walked behind the bar.

Nea, Mana, and Tyki were standing in front of him on the other side of the bar top. He smiled at them and placed his palms flat against the edge of the bar top and rested his fingers on the top. It was smooth and smelled like lemon.

He looked down. “Wow, clean.”

“Are you even old enough to be back there?” Nea asked, a smirk evident in his tone.

“Or tall enough?”

Allen looked up and stuck his tongue out at Tyki. “I’m of average height.”

Nea rolled his eyes. “Yeah, for a girl.”

Allen pressed his fingers hard against the bar top and puffed a breath out his nose. “I’m five-nine and a half.”

Nea waved his hand. “Don’t care. Now make me a drink.”

Allen inhaled sharply through his nose, all the cleaning product in the air burning his nose slightly. “Nope. One martini and a gin and tonic coming right up.”

Nea pointed at Tyki. “He’s the one who called you short.”

Tyki blinked at Allen and Allen smirked. “You’re right, Uncle Nea. No drink for Tyki either.”

He set the glass Allen hadn’t realized he was still holding on the bar top. “Just fill this with vodka.” He leaned over, crossing his arms and placing them flat against the bar top and smiled at Allen. “Please?”

Allen leaned forward as well, realizing he was staring directly into Tyki’s eyes. He really was short. Though, it was kind of nice to be able to look into Tyki’s eyes. It made his heart flutter and maybe that was because he was only ever this close to Tyki’s face right before they kissed or if they were lying down. Because he was short.

He frowned. “I’m short.”

Tyki closed the small amount of distance and pressed their noses together. “But adorable.” He had that mischievous glint in his eyes that made Allen’s heart race and his face flush.

He pulled back, clearing his throat, and grabbed the glass from the bar top. “Fine. One martini, one sidecar, and one gin and tonic coming right up.”

* * *

 

“Well that wasn’t as bad as I expected,” Allen said as he and Tyki walked around the mansion, looking for his room. It wasn’t anywhere near where Nea and Mana’s were and that was all they had been able to figure out up to that point.

“It’s only Wednesday, boy.”

Allen stopped, looking around the hallway. “Does this look familiar?”

He heard Tyki’s footsteps stop. “It does.” Allen looked at Tyki, who was now staring at the wall. “Where could it possibly be?”

“We could just ask.”

Tyki looked horrified.

“Oh, never mind.” He looked around the hallway trying to figure out if there was any place they hadn’t checked. His only problem was that he wasn’t sure where the other rooms were. His eyes landed on Tyki’s door. “Could they be in your room?”

He watched Tyki walk into his field of vision and open the door. Even though Allen had asked, he wasn’t expecting to see his stuff just sitting on the bed next to Tyki’s stuff.

“Do you see that?” Tyki asked, looking into the room.

“The bags?”

The only answer he got was Tyki walking into the room and picking something off the bed.

“Uh, Tyki?”

He slipped whatever it was into his pocket and Allen saw it glint in the light. Tyki turned around and smirked. “Going to stand there all night?”

Allen looked down at Tyki’s pocket. “Is that a ring?”

“It is. Sheril must have left it. Or Road.”

Allen smiled at how annoyed Tyki sounded. “Good to know they approve.”

“Or maybe they want me to marry someone else,” Tyki said, placing all their bags on the ground. Allen walked into the room and closed the door. Tyki was moving his hand over Allen’s bag. “Is there a box of cookies in here?”

Allen snatched the bag from Tyki. “Yep. Precisely why I wanted to find it so badly.” He knelt down on the ground with the bag and unzipped it, taking out the rectangular box with the little plastic window on top that revealed one of the macaroons. He was practically drooling at the sight of it.

Before he could open the box and start eating them, they were taken away from him. He frowned at his now empty hands. He looked up at the sound of the bed creaking and saw Tyki sitting on the bed, already eating one of the pumpkin spice macaroons.

“Hey! Don’t eat them without me,” Allen said, standing up and jumping onto the bed.

Tyki chuckled, sliding the box over to Allen. “So childish.”

* * *

 

After Allen had taken at least twenty pictures of the giant library and sent them to Lavi, he had gotten a call. Smirking, he excused himself from the living room and walked out into the hallway. “Hi, Lavi.”

“Allen, you’re breaking my heart. Torturing me even.”

“Good to know you got the pictures.”

“If I come over, can I see the library?”

He sounded so desperate that Allen was actually considering it.

“I love you, Allen.”

He sighed. “Alright. I’ll ask.”

“Allen, you’re the best,” Lavi said as Allen walked back into the living room. “And the best man at the wedding I was barely invited to.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m barely invited too.”

“Ah, good old Yuu.”

Allen stopped just as he entered the living room. “Sounds almost weird without Kanda saying, ‘Don’t call me that.’”

Lavi hummed in agreement.

“Can Lavi come over and look at the library?”

Sheril looked at Tyki, who shrugged, still looking at Allen. “I don’t live here.”

“Anything?” Lavi asked and Allen just stayed silent as Sheril looked at him. “You’re breathing weird; is someone staring at you?”

Allen bit his lip, starting to feel very uncomfortable with the staring and Lavi’s comment.

“Go ahead and invite him, Allen,” Tricia said. “And tell him he can stay the night too if he wants.”

Allen smiled, looking over at her. “Thanks, Tricia.” He turned around and walked back into the hallway. “You can come over Lavi and you can sleepover too if you want.”

“I’ll be there in an hour.” Lavi hung up before Allen could say anything else. He smiled as he placed his phone in his pocket.

“Don’t forget to open the gate for him!” he heard Mana call from the living room.

“I won’t!” he called back.

* * *

 

“This place is beautiful,” Lavi said. They were sitting on the floor, leaning against one of the well-stocked shelves.

“You said that already. Fourteen times.” Allen looked up at the ceiling. He couldn’t deny that there was something about the architecture that just took his breath away.

“It isn’t any less beautiful, Allen. I wish I could just live here.”

Allen looked over at Lavi, who was still looking around like he was in the most magical place ever. “Just don’t leave and they won’t notice you’re still here.”

Lavi looked over at him, smiling. “Yes, but then how will I go to class?”

Allen smiled back. “Well if you live here, you won’t need a degree or a job.”

Lavi just groaned and fell over, resting his head on Allen’s thigh. “Ugh, don’t remind me about life.”

Allen just patted the top of his head. “There, there, Lavi. And aren’t you going to be a history teacher.”

Lavi groaned again. “Only one more quarter.”

“Oh,” Allen said, looking towards the bookshelf. He smiled. “You’re Lavi Bookman.”

He felt the warmth and weight of Lavi’s head leave his leg. He noticed Lavi sitting up and looked over just as Lavi settled next to him again. He was smiling back at Allen. “I know.” He sighed, smile turning a little sadder. “But we won’t see each other very much.”

“We’ll all hangout every Saturday. Or just the two of us, but I’ll keep my Saturdays free.”

Lavi’s smile brightened up again. “I’ll hold you to that, Allen. Starting tomorrow.”

Before Allen could respond, he heard footsteps approaching. “Candy cane martini, boy,” he heard Tyki say, sounding like he could really use a drink.

Allen stood up. “I didn’t realize you could drink so much,” he said, spinning on his heels to look at Tyki.

“My family tends to have that effect.”

“I could use that alcohol right about now,” Lavi said.

Allen watched as Tyki looked down at Lavi for a moment before resting his eyes on Allen. “He looks dead inside.”

“I do not.”

Allen rolled his eyes. “Come on you two, let’s go drink Christmas things in November.”

* * *

 

The three of them collapsed onto the bed. Tyki noticed that the eye-patch wearing third wheel in between him and Allen had his arms wrapped around Allen and his face on Allen’s shoulder.

“Lavi, you smell like a drunk candy cane,” Allen whined. He shoved Lavi slightly so he could reach over and click the lamp off, bathing them in darkness.

“But I _am_ a drunk candy cane, Allen.”

Tyki heard Lavi shifting against the sheet and then he felt Lavi’s head on his shoulder. “You know, my mom na-”

“Boy is there a reason eye-patch is in our bed?”

“Shhh, I’m trying to sleep.”

“As I was saying. My mom named me after an ancient script…” Tyki chose that moment to block out Lavi’s drunken ramblings.

At some point, Tyki realized that Lavi had stopped talking. Figuring he was asleep, Tyki shoved Lavi’s head off him and towards the middle.

“Hey, professor,” Lavi whispered.

Tyki sighed. “Yes?”

It was a few moments before Lavi said, “You and Allen are really good together.”

Maybe Lavi wasn’t that bad of a third wheel after all.

* * *

 

It was the last day of school before finals and Allen realized he was out of composition paper. He set his backpack down on the ground and walked into the kitchen to grab his keys. When he passed by the living room on his way out, Tyki asked, “Going somewhere, boy?”

“Home to get more composition paper,” he said as he left. It was freezing cold outside and he wanted to get there and get back as fast as possible so he could finish everything.

Once he got home, happy to be inside a warm building again, he tried to unlock the door, but his key wouldn’t work. He pulled it out and stared at it for a few moments until Nea opened the door and laughed.

“We changed the lock two weeks ago, Allen.”

Allen looked up. “What? I live here.”

He watched Mana walk to the door from the living room. “We’re happy to have you live here, Allen, but you haven’t been home in two weeks.” He smiled. “It’s okay, Allen. We would offer to help you move your stuff, but there isn’t anything left.”

He hadn’t realized how easy it had been to just stop going home and start going to Tyki’s apartment instead. Or, well, his apartment too now that he thought about it.

He looked down and saw that Nea was holding out a key and several sheets of composition paper.

“Feel free to come back anytime,” Mana said.

“But don’t forget to bring your stuff.”

“And don’t forget about the flight on Thursday.”

Allen grabbed the stuff and looked up at them, smiling. “I won’t.” It felt nice and normal to be parented. He hadn’t even realized just how much he missed it.

* * *

 

It was three o’clock on Saturday morning when Allen was finished with homework for the time being. He walked into their room and had no trouble finding the bed in complete darkness.

The sheets and blanket felt familiar and comforting against his skin. The scent of the laundry detergent made him more tired than he was before. He let his eyes close and asked, “Hey, did you know I moved in?”

“Yes. Did you?”

Allen sighed. “No, I didn’t. But this is me moving in with you.”

“Okay, boy. Now go to sleep.”

He curled up closer to Tyki and said, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

* * *

 

On Wednesday, Allen was officially done for the quarter. He just had one final stop to make before he went home and packed. He smiled as he opened the door of the French bakery and saw Link at the register.

Link locked eyes with him for only a moment before reaching under the counter to grab something. Allen stopped at the register just as Link set a small box in front of him. “Happy early birthday, Walker.”

Allen reached into his backpack and pulled out a large gift-wrapped box and placed it on the counter next to his present. “And happy early birthday to you, Link. Since you’ll be in Germany.”

“And you’ll be in Portugal.”

He placed his hands on the box, wondering what was in it. Probably food, but he wanted to know which food. “Not for your birthday. I get back on the 28th.”

“I get back on the 30th, but you already knew that because I’m being dragged to your new year’s party.”

Allen smiled because despite Link’s tone, his eyes were saying that he was almost excited. “It’ll be fun, I promise. And I’m bringing sparkling cider just for you.”

Link frowned. “Bringing?”

It took Allen a few seconds to realize that Link didn’t know he had moved or even that he was dating someone. Allen knew not to mention who it was if he didn’t have to until the quarter was officially over, but he didn’t realize he had failed to say anything to Link at all.

“I accidentally moved.”

“Walker.”

Allen let out a breathy chuckle. “You know me, always getting lost.” He tapped his fingers against the box. “I moved in with my boyfriend, but it was an accident.”

Then Link did something unexpected, he smiled. “I’d love to meet him.”

“I think you already have, but you’ll meet him again at the party.” Allen smiled back. “Have a good break, Link.”

“And you as well, Walker.”

* * *

 

Tyki leaned closer to Allen. “Boy, can I just spend Christmas with your family. It is your birthday after all.”

Allen sighed. “No.” He was actually supposed to already be on his flight, but there was too much snow, so it got pushed and now he was on the same flight as Tyki. Mana and Nea were trying to figure out if their bags were going on the correct flight.

Currently, Tyki and Allen were sitting at a table at a café area, hoping that they would get to leave that day.

“Allen, my father does not like me. I was the baby that almost ruined his marriage and I’ve met him twice, but your grandmother loves me.” Allen knew all that. He knew that Sheril and Tyki’s father had married Katerina’s sister-in-law, cheated on her with Sheril’s mom, married Sheril’s mom, cheated on her sixteen years later with Tyki’s mom, but stayed married to Sheril’s mom and completely ignored Tyki. It was a mess, but Allen wasn’t going to interfere.

Who was he kidding? Of course he was.

“Okay. But you’re telling my grandmother.”

He looked over at Tyki just as he sat back and smirked. “As I said, she adores me.”

“Walker?”

Allen looked up and saw Link, Tewaku, Madarao, and Tokusa walking towards them.

They sat down at the table as well and Allen asked, “Stuck here because of the snow too?”

“Yes, unfortunately,” Link said. He looked at Tyki. “Is this him?” That prompted all of them to look at Tyki.

“Yes, it is. You’ve met him, right?” He wasn’t even sure why he felt so awkward. It was just Link. But they were all so quiet that he could hear every noise in the airport. Every coffee cup as it was placed on a table, every hissing espresso machine in the vicinity, every bag as it was wheeled across the airport, and every inhale and exhale of his own breathe.

“We have, yes. On a number of occasions,” Link finally said. He looked at Allen. “He buys you bread.”

Allen smiled, mostly because the silence was over, but also because how impressed Link seemed. “Glad you approve.” He looked at Tyki, who was staring at him in amusement. “Good job.”

“I missed something.”

“Yeah.”

“Our bags are going to Zurich,” he heard Nea say.

He rolled his eyes and grimaced as he looked over at them standing next to Link. “I hate this airport.”

“They thought we were going to Zurich, so they put all the bags on a different flight to Zurich. But that means that planes are taking off,” Mana said.

“Speaking of which, I think our flight’s boarding,” Tewaku said.

They all stood up and Link said, “We’ll see you on the 31st.”

Allen smiled. “Yep. Have a nice flight.”

Link sighed. “I’m sure we’ll all try.”

* * *

 

“We’re boarding in five minutes,” Mana said.

Allen didn’t look up from the table. “You said that ten minutes ago.”

“We have a ridiculously long layover in Munich, so we might as well let it be shorter by staying here longer,” Nea said, though he sounded pissed off by both options.

He heard a phone ringing and a moment later, something was being pressed to his ear and he was being yelled at in Portuguese. He took hold of the phone and looked up at Mana. “Why?”

“You’re her grandson, she loves you.”

Allen rolled his eyes. “Well she called you.”

“Just give me the phone, boy,” Tyki said and Allen handed it over without another word. He looked over and watched Tyki smirk and say, “I know we’ll be late, but I’ll be visiting,” in Portuguese and then put the phone down only a few moments later. “It’s done,” he said, handing the phone back to Mana.

“I officially hate you,” Allen said.

“So do I,” Nea said.

“You all love me. I just got you off the hook for being five hours late.”

Allen turned away and reached into his bag to pull out the thumbprint cookies Link had made as his birthday present. He put one in his mouth and said, “Because I hate you so much, I’m eating these in front of you and sharing with everyone but you.”

He handed one to Mana and one to Nea, and then smirked at Tyki, who just shrugged. “Okay. She still likes me best.”

“Oh, our flight’s boarding,” Mana said and he sounded far too excited.

“And I think you’ll like me best too after you see what I got you for your birthday.”

He shrugged, looking at the table. “Lavi will always be my favorite.” It was kind of true, but he actually just sort of wanted to know what Tyki had gotten him.

He felt Tyki’s nose against his ear. “I got you a piano,” Tyki whispered.

Allen’s eyes widened. “Isn’t that way too expensive?”

“You need a piano and it’s your nineteenth birthday. You only get one, boy.”

He turned his head, slowly, until their noses were touching. “Thank you.”

Allen knew that look in Tyki’s eyes; he was smirking. “You’re welcome.”

“We’re leaving without you,” Nea said.

Allen pulled away and stood up. “Uh, yeah.” He looked at Nea and Mana, who were standing as well. “I forgot you were there.”

“Yeah, we know,” Nea said, walking away, and Tyki snickered.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Allen said.

Mana nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

* * *

 

“Allen, we have to go.”

He didn’t stop writing. “Tyki, you said I had five minutes. It’s been three and a half.” He just wanted to finish this before he forgot what he was going to write. He knew it was May 2nd, their anniversary. He knew it was a Saturday and that there was traffic, but he got five minutes, so he was going to use every second.

About a minute and a half later, the pencil was taken out of his hand. “It’s been five minutes now and you’re only a freshman, you have years to write the world’s greatest symphony, boy.”

Allen looked up. He had a snarky remark, but it left his brain the second Tyki kissed him. He fisted his hand into Tyki’s shirt and pulled him closer.

“Meow.”

He let go of Tyki and pulled away. He looked around and spotted Joyd and Desires sitting in wine glasses on the counter. “How did they…” he walked over to them and picked up the wine glass Joyd was in. “How did you get in here?”

“Meow.”

He turned his head to Tyki, who was smirking, still standing by the table. “Happy anniversary.”

“You got me our cats sitting in wine glasses because?”

“Check the collar, boy.”

Allen looked back at the cat and gently ran his finger across the collar until he felt something cold and smooth. He slowly turned the glass, doing his best not to freak out Joyd, and saw that there was a gold band attached to his collar. “Is that-”

“Check the other one.”

He set the glass down, not entirely sure if he wanted to know. It was probably an engagement ring, but he wasn’t sure what he would say. He wanted to say yes. It just seemed way too early. He picked up Desires out of the wine glass and set him on the counter. The other ring was in the exact same place.

“Are your cats getting married, Tyki?” He slipped the collars off them and grabbed the rings. Tyki still hadn’t said anything, so Allen tried, “Aren’t they related? And cat?” He took Joyd out of the glass because he wasn’t sure he would be able to get out on his own.

Both Joyd and Desires jumped off the counter, landing with two separate soft thudding noises that sounded far too loud in the silence.

Allen ran his finger along one of the rings. Part of it was warm from being so close to a cat and the other half was cold from the air in the apartment. “So, you’re proposing?”

He heard a thwacking sound and then a card landed right in front of him. He flipped it over. It was the ace of hearts. “Marry me? Throw back for yes. Eat for no,” Allen read out loud, smiling as he did so. That was how Tyki asked him out, except he used the queen of hearts. “You skipped a card.” He picked it up and with a flick of his wrist, threw it back to Tyki.

“Check your back pocket.”

He let go of the rings and collars and reached into both back pockets. He found what felt like two cards in the left one and pulled them out. It was the queen of hearts and the king of hearts. The queen of hearts still had the teeth marks at the top where Allen had tried to eat it a year ago.

“In case you wanted a snack, boy.”

He threw both of those at Tyki too. “I didn’t actually eat it.”

“Oh, so you’ll go out with me?”

“Of course, I’m hungry and it’s our anniversary.” He grabbed the rings, still barely believing he was doing this, and turned around. “Come here.”

Tyki walked towards him and grabbed one of the rings. He looked up at Tyki, who was smiling in that sweet, adorable way that he only did when he was really happy about something and it made Allen’s heart beat just a little faster every time he saw it. He felt the ring slide against his left ring finger.

He looked down at Tyki’s hand so he could slip the ring onto his finger. He looked back up. “Dinner?”

“Yes.”

* * *

 

They were having a nice time, talking about Kanda, Lavi, and Alma’s graduation, Kanda and Alma’s wedding, and whatever else came to their minds. That is, until the waiter came by and informed them that someone from the bar had sent a drink over for Allen.

Looking directly into Allen’s eyes, Tyki grabbed the drink, downed the entire thing, and then placed it back on the tray with a clinking sound. “It was a daiquiri,” he said and Allen heard the waiter’s footsteps retreat.

He glared at Tyki. “I like those and it was free, so why did you drink it?”

“Told you they would never notice, Mana. Do those look like engagement rings to you?” That sounded like Nea.

He looked over at Nea, still glaring. “What are you doing here?”

“We didn’t know you’d be here. They just give us free drinks because I’m a CSO musician and they give us free food because they like me. Now when were you going to tell us about this engagement?”

“You? Never. Dad? When we got home.”

Nea just smiled at him. “That’s so harsh, Allen.”

“Well, I guess I’ll pretend I don’t know then,” Mana said and Allen looked at him, confirming that he was in fact smiling in amusement.

“We’re getting married. Eventually,” Allen said and then he smiled too; it was hard not to when everyone else around him was.

“Congratulations,” Nea and Mana both said.

Mana placed his hand on Nea’s shoulder. “We’ll go and let you get back to your dinner. And call your grandmother.”

“I will when it’s not the middle of the night.”

Mana shoved Nea lightly. “Okay. Have a nice time.”

“Mana, don’t shove me,” Nea whined. Mana promptly dragged him away, giving Allen one last smile as he did so.

Once they were gone, Allen sighed and looked at Tyki. “They’re everywhere.”

Tyki smirked, which was not the reaction Allen was expecting. “I saw that look.”

Allen blinked. “What?”

“You like it when I’m jealous.”

He opened his mouth to say anything, but then his phone rang. He sighed and pulled it out of his pocket. Before he could even read the name, it was taken out of his hands.

“What, Bookman?”

He looked up from his now empty hand and at Tyki, who was rolling his eyes.

“Yes. Goodbye.” He made a move to put the phone down, but then sighed. “Yes, I will tell him… Fine, ask him yourself.” He held the phone out for Allen.

Allen took it. “Lavi?”

“Allen! You’re getting married?”

He winced. “You don’t have to yell, Lavi, and yes. Eventually.” He looked down at the table because Tyki looked almost surprised at that last part.

“But you’re engaged?”

“Yes, Lavi. And before you ask, yes, you’re my best man.”

“Allen, you’re supposed to ask me that, but fine, if you insist.”

He smiled. “Okay, now leave me alone.”

“Bye, Allen.”

Once he heard silence, he put his phone down on the table and looked up at Tyki. “Uncle Nea probably told the entire world. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re family knows.”

Tyki closed his eyes. “Wonderful.”

Allen smiled, all thoughts of Lavi, their wedding, and their families forgotten. He placed his hand on Tyki’s and Tyki placed his thumb overtop of Allen’s hand and opened his eyes.

Neither of them had to say anything and that was why Allen had said yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :)


	4. Chapter 4

On March 1st of the following year, Allen was sitting on Lavi’s bed, throwing his pencil up in the air and catching it over and over again because he was officially out of ideas for the day.

“So, how long does eventually last?” Lavi asked suddenly and Allen looked at him, consequently getting hit in the nose with his pencil as it fell back down. Lavi, was still looking at his wall.

“What?”

He smiled. “Allen, you’re engaged, but not even you know when the wedding is.”

“And?”

“I lived with you for three months-”

Allen sighed; he remembered what a fun time that was. After graduation, Lavi had three months before he started teaching, so he moved in with Tyki and Allen. It wasn’t bad, but Tyki hadn’t been thrilled about it.

“-and I saw it. He wants to marry you, but you don’t talk about it. Every time he asks what eventually means, you just end up having sex, which actually just seems to be how you solve all your problems.”

Allen bit his lip. “Sorry.” They hadn’t been trying to make Lavi uncomfortable, but he kept coming home at the worst times, which was exactly why Tyki hadn’t wanted him there.

Lavi looked at him. “It’s fine, but you could have just kicked me out.”

Allen kicked his foot. “Shut up. You’re the one who moved in without asking.”

Lavi smiled wider. “Because I know you love me.”

Allen just rolled his eyes and Lavi got up. Allen watched as he walked into the kitchen and opened one of the cabinets. “What are you doing?”

“I’m helping you plan your wedding,” he said into the cabinet. He pulled out a box of something. He turned around and placed it onto the counter. Allen was pretty sure those were cookies. “Come on, Allen.”

Allen stood up and shuffled his way into the kitchen, stopping next to Lavi. He watched as Lavi popped open the box, letting a slight sugary smell fill the air.

“Cake.”

He looked up at Lavi. “Those are cookies.” He heard Lavi’s fingers against the plastic box. “No, for your wedding. Where are you getting the cake from?”

“Oh, Link.”

A cookie was placed in his hand. He wrapped his fingers around it and brought it to his mouth. “So, I answer a question and I get a cookie?”

Lavi nodded.

Allen smiled and took a bite. “I like this system,” he mumbled through his mouthful of cookie.

“Where?”

“Planetarium.” He looked over at the box and placed one cookie on the counter so he could continue eating the one he already had.

“When?”

“May 2nd.” He placed another cookie on top of that other one.

“Food?”

“Link?” He let his hand hover over the cookies, waiting for Lavi’s response.

“Hey, it’s not my wedding.”

He grabbed another cookie and added it to the pile.

“The guest list would give you a hundred cookies and I just can’t afford that, so I think we’re done.” Lavi closed the box.

Allen heard his phone ringing and shoved the rest of his first cookie into his mouth as he walked back to Lavi’s bed. It wasn’t as good as Link’s cookies and it had that weird grocery store aftertaste. He picked up his phone. He didn’t recognize the number, but he answered it anyway.

“Hello?”

“Is this Allen Walker?”

“Yes.”

“I’m calling on behalf of the Boston Symphony orchestra to find out if you’re available to be a substitute pianist for the rest of the week and concerts on Saturday and Sunday.”

He swallowed because talking to the Boston Symphony Orchestra while eating a cookie was a terrible idea. “I- yes, I am. When should I be there?”

“As soon as possible. We’ll reimburse you for the last minute air faire.”

“Okay. Thank you.” Allen let the phone slip from his hand and onto the bed. Tyki was still at that conference in Germany, so Allen would have to call and leave a message. He had to buy a plane ticket and get home so he could pack his bag.

“Allen, you doing okay over there?”

He turned around. Lavi was putting the cookies back in the cabinet. “Yeah. I have to go to Boston and play with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.”

Lavi whipped back around. “Oh. Do you need a ride to the airport?”

“Yes please.”

* * *

 

It turned out that not a lot of places were available on a two months notice. So they had to find somewhere to get married and Sheril offered his mansion, provided that Tyki and Allen agreed to an engagement party. It was a nice place, it was free, and it was available on short notice, so they agreed.

Which was how Allen ended up in a corner, downing martinis as they came by and replacing them on the tray with his empty glasses. He could feel Link looking at him in that disappointed way. He could hear Lavi trying not to laugh at his misery. He could see through the glass he was currently tipping into his mouth that Alma was trying to get Kanda to have fun by shaking him and probably whining.

“Walker, are you alright?” Link sounded like he was about ready to cut Allen off, which was what made Allen let his arm and the glass fall to his side and look at Link.

“I’m fine, Link.”

Lavi snorted.

Allen looked the other way and at Lavi. He snatched the champagne glass from him with his free hand and drank that too, glaring at Lavi. He handed him the empty glass. “What?”

“Nothing. You just seem stressed.”

He felt Link’s hand on his shoulder. “Bookman, let’s take Walker to get some fresh air.” If it meant getting away from this party, Allen was happy to go. Link let go of him and the three of them walked outside through the front door.

The driveway was filled with cars, most of which were fancy cars that didn’t belong to anyone Allen knew. At least the air was cool and fresh, filling his lungs and clearing his senses.

“As far as the cake goes, I believe I have an idea,” Link said.

Allen took a few more deep breathes before smiling at Link and waiting for him to answer.

“A three tiered white cake with buttercream frosting topped with macaroons.”

“Link.” He placed his hand on Link’s shoulder. “I think I love you.”

“I see the vodka’s finally kicking in,” Lavi commented.

Allen let go of Link and said, “It was gin, Lavi.” He looked at him, offering him a dazzling smile that he hoped said _and let me have more_. Though, he was feeling a bit light headed from the sudden movement.

Lavi shook his head. “Allen-”

They all turned around when they heard the door open. Tyki was standing there, looking just a little frazzled, hair not quite sitting right. “Boy, why are you out here?”

“Getting fresh air,” Allen said, still smiling. “You know how boring and awful those parties are.”

Tyki grabbed his hand and started dragging him back inside without another word. He could still see Lavi and Link as they looked at each other before following Allen and Tyki inside.

Tyki didn’t let go of him, but he stopped dragging him when they were halfway across the foyer. Lavi and Link didn’t stop they just redirected themselves and continued on their way back to the party.

“He just said inside, he never said where,” Tyki said, almost too quiet for Allen to hear.

Allen looked at him and asked, “What?”

Tyki continued looking down the hall, towards the party. “I never liked being told what to do, however, I tolerate it when I’m in this house and I was told to bring you back inside provided you hadn’t left yet.”

“Why would I leave? _How_ would I leave?”

Tyki looked at him, smirking, which was of great comfort to Allen. “You don’t know how to steal a car, boy?”

“I do, but that seems rather pointless because then you would be stuck here.” Allen smiled. “Although, I’m sure I could have called a cab. You know, because that’s simpler.”

“You’ve never been simple.”

Allen stuck out his tongue, even though he just couldn’t stop smiling. “Yeah, well neither have you.”

“How about we take the people we like, go to city hall and get married right now. We already have the marriage license.”

It was Allen’s turn to drag Tyki. Their first stop was Nea and Mana, who appeared to be having a conversation about something boring or that was just the general atmosphere that this party was giving off.

“We’re getting married.”

They looked at him. “We know, Allen. That’s why were talking about the carpet because we’re so bored,” Nea said.

“No. Right now. Come on,” Allen said, gesturing his head towards the exit.

Mana smiled. “Okay, but on one condition. You let us give you you’re wedding present tonight.”

“You got us a present?” Allen asked.

“Yeah, and it’s big,” Nea said right before he downed the rest of his champagne.

“Go tell everyone else and we’ll go figure out everything for your present,” Mana said.

“Thank you,” Allen said. He dragged Tyki towards Lenalee, Alma, Kanda, Lavi, and Link. “We’re getting married right now.”

“Does that mean we can leave?” Kanda asked.

“Yes. We’re leaving and we’re going to city hall.”

Everyone but Kanda smiled.

“Bookman and I will stop by the bakery and see what we can do,” Link said.

“But I’m the best man,” Lavi whined, looking over at Link.

Link sighed. “Yes and your job is to make sure this goes smoothly and there is nothing more important to Walker than food.” Allen found it sort of funny that Link wasn’t also playing the best man card.

Lavi pulled his keys out of his pocket and because it was just so silent, Allen could hear the subtle jingling sound they made. “Good point. I’ll drive, since you came here with Allen.” They left, the jingling sound getting quieter and quieter until it disappeared.

“Yuu and I will go figure out dinner plans,” Alma said, grabbing Kanda’s hand and dragging him away.

Allen fell over onto Tyki’s shoulder; apparently the gin hadn’t been done kicking in.

“I’ll try to sober Allen up,” Lenalee said. “Go tell your family, Tyki, and we’ll meet you there.”

“What about Nea and Mana?” Tyki asked.

She smiled. “I know what they got you. They’ll be awhile.”

Allen felt himself being moved from Tyki’s shoulder to Lenalee’s. He watched Tyki walk away until he was with his family, and then he looked up at Lenalee. “Did you get taller?”

“I’m wearing heels, Allen.” She looked at him for a few seconds. “Well, you’re not crying, so you should be fine soon.”

He nodded. “I’m just dizzy. And I’m getting married.” He wondered when they would stop being so impulsive.

* * *

 

Link flipped on the light of the bakery. There was a cake on the center table and boxes of takeout food on the rest of them. “You closed your bakery for us?”

“It’s spring break, so it was going to be a bit slow regardless.”

“And you made that cake today?” It was exactly what Link had described earlier that day.

“I was already working on a prototype.”

“He made me help decorate,” Lavi said.

Allen felt someone shoving him. “Are we going to stand here all night?” Nea asked.

Allen rolled his eyes and grabbed Tyki’s hand. “Aright, let’s go eat. I think I see pizza.”

“You do,” Alma said.

* * *

 

They all ended up pushing a bunch of the tables together and sitting together, surrounded by food. “So you’re staying home for your honeymoon?” Lavi asked, reaching across the table to steal an eggroll from Allen’s plate.

Allen followed Lavi’s hand until the eggroll was in his mouth. “Yes. Stop stealing my food.” It was spring break, but they didn’t have any plans and Allen still had to practice.

Lavi pulled something out of his pocket and threw it at Allen. He wasn’t fast enough to catch it, so it hit him in the face and was caught by Tyki before it fell to the ground.

“That’s for your door.”

Tyki held it right in front of Allen’s face. “It’s a sock,” Allen said. He grabbed it and threw it at Lavi. “I don’t want your sock, Lavi.”

“Since we’re giving wedding presents…” Mana said and Allen looked over just as he also pulled something out of his pocket. It was a key. “We got you a house.”

Allen looked from Nea to Mana a few times until he felt Tyki’s hand on his head. “Thank you so much. You didn’t have to-”

“We know. You would have gotten there eventually but we thought it was a good time.”

Tyki took the key. “I think Allen’s stuck.”

Allen slapped his hand away and looked at him. “I’m surprised.”

“We got you a thousand dollar gift card for this bakery,” Tricia said.

Allen smiled and looked at her. “Thank you. That’s very sweet of you.” He looked at Alma. “Didn’t you say that you loved our apartment? That one night before your wedding you stayed there.”

Alma nodded. “Yeah. Are you giving it to us?”

“Just give us two weeks and it’s all yours,” Tyki said.

Alma smiled. “Allen, that’s so nice of you.”

“We need to change the lock because the rabbit still has a key,” Kanda said. He looked at Alma. “Did you just kick me?”

“Ow, Yuu! Why did you kick me?” Lavi asked.

Allen felt a sharp pain in his leg and he looked at Lavi. “Why did you kick me?”

“That was me,” Kanda said.

Allen sighed, still looking at Lavi. “I don’t know why we invited him.”

“Neither do I,” Kanda said.

Lavi smiled. “Good to see some things will never change.”

* * *

 

It was a normal day. Except for the fact that it was four in the morning, it was the day after Allen’s graduation, he had been anxiously awaiting responses from every job he had applied to and auditioned for for weeks, and he was pacing back and forth holding his fussy, one week old daughter, Eve Walker-Mikk.

“Shhhh. It’s okay.” As long as he kept moving, she seemed to be falling asleep. The only sound in the house was the sound of his feet shuffling against the carpet until he heard a door open and Tyki stepped out into the hallway. Allen stopped in front of him and switched to bouncing their baby.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Tyki asked.

“Because I was already awake,” Allen whispered. He didn’t want to talk loudly so close to Eve’s ears.

Tyki held out his arms. “Give me the baby and go check your email.”

“You have to keep moving her or she’ll start crying.”

Tyki sighed, but he smiled anyway. “I know, boy.” Allen continued bouncing her as he moved closer to Tyki and then placed her in his arms. He started pacing almost immediately. “She’s okay.”

“Right.” Allen walked into their room. He used only the light from the hallway to find his phone, which was sitting on Tyki’s pillow. He picked it up and checked his email. He had not only gotten one job offer, but two. He dropped his phone onto the bed and practically ran out into the hallway.

“So?” Tyki asked as he paced past Allen.

“Chicago Symphony wants me to compose for them and Cleveland Symphony wants me to be their pianist.”

Tyki passed him again. “And you’re taking the Chicago job?” Allen wasn’t even sure if it was a question, but it was late, so he chose to take it as one.

“Well, maybe not. Cleveland wants me, Tyki. One of the greatest orchestras in the country wants me.” He had played with two of the greatest orchestras in the country, so maybe it shouldn’t have been surprising, but it was. At least to him.

Allen just watched Tyki pace for a few more moments before he got the answer of, “But we live here, boy.” He stopped in front of Allen and started bouncing Eve gently.

“Yes, but we can move.”

The look on Tyki’s face said it all. It said _, yes, but I didn’t think we’d have to._ It said, _I didn’t make any plans for us to move._

Allen felt tears stinging his eyes. “You didn’t think I’d get it, which is okay because I didn’t think I would either.” He left because he couldn’t stand to be there for another second.

“Where are you going?” he heard Tyki ask just as he placed his hand on the doorknob. He must have followed him.

“I have no idea.” And he didn’t. He just walked. He walked until he was standing in front of the door of their old apartment. His heart was racing as he reached up and knocked.

He shouldn’t have been bothering them, but this was the closest place he had and he was wearing musical note pajamas and one of Tyki’s shirts so he didn’t want to go any farther. Besides, he didn’t want to see Mana or Nea right now.

Alma opened the door, looking more like it was four thirty in the afternoon rather than in the morning. He had even gotten dressed. Or he just slept like that, Allen wasn’t sure. “Allen, are you okay?”

“Uh, no.”

Alma reached over and wiped his face. “You’re crying. Did something happen?”

He sniffled. “We had a fight.”

“And?” he heard Kanda ask.

“I don’t think we’ve actually had a fight yet. Normally, we just have sex because we can’t fight when we’re having sex, but we have a baby and-”

Alma wrapped his hands around Allen’s shoulders and dragged him inside.

“Sorry for rambling.”

“It’s okay,” Alma said, closing the door. He sat Allen on the couch where Kanda was and sat in between them. “What happened?”

He was trying to organize his thoughts so he could answer Alma’s question when it hit him. “I just left. I left my baby.” He tried to get up but Kanda reached past Alma and forced him to sit back down.

“Beansprout, you’re whining in my living room. Now answer the fucking question so I can go back to sleep, because if you just leave, Alma will just talk until he finds out what happened.” He sat back down and Allen looked at Alma.

“The Cleveland Symphony Orchestra wants me to their pianist, but he doesn’t want to move and I think it’s because he didn’t think they’d want me and I didn’t think they would either, but he’s supposed to believe in me and-”

“Beansprout, if he didn’t say that, then he probably doesn’t think that. Go away and talk about your problems.”

Alma smiled. “He’s right. You have to fight eventually. You’ve been married for two years, Allen. I think you’re long overdue for a fight.”

* * *

 

He didn’t go home. Something was telling him not to, so he ended up on the Northwestern University Campus, right in front of Lake Michigan as the sun rose over the horizon. The water was such a beautiful mix of red and pink that he didn’t notice Tyki until he was standing right next to him.

“She wouldn’t stop crying when you left, so I took her for a walk,” he said, looking up at Allen and holding their sleeping baby.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I left and that I got so upset.”

“I knew you’d get it. I know you’ll get all of them, boy. I just thought you would want to stay here because you grew up here. Everyone you know is here.”

Allen sat down on the grass and looked out towards the water, smiling. “Did I ever tell you that when I was five I told Uncle Nea that one day I was going to compose for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra?”

“No, but I’m guessing you never let go of that dream.”

“Nope. So we’ll stay. Besides, he told me that if I did ever compose something for them, he would buy me any Steinway and Sons Grand Piano that I wanted.”

Allen looked over at the rocks when he heard Tyki tap one of them. “Remember this?”

Allen nodded. He looked up at Tyki. “Remember how pissed off I was.”

He smirked. “Hard to forget such a beautiful expression.”

Allen would have kicked him, but he didn’t want him to drop their baby, so he settled for just sticking his tongue out.

“And I believe our first fight has ended,” Tyki said.

Allen stood up. “Time to go home, Tyki.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading :)


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